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The Coolidge Rifle

The Coolidge Rifle - Rifle, Flintlock
Accession #: 1599.1
Title: The Coolidge Rifle
Object Type: Rifle, Flintlock
Participants:
Physical Description: Ferrous metal barrel, American hardwood stock, brass butt-plate, trigger-guard and (4) ram-rod ferrules (guides) with serpentine arm opposite the lock-plate. Barrel is held in stock with cross pins that would pass through tabs affixed beneath to barrel underside. 42 inch barrel. This will have a Damascus wire-weld formed, or twist-barrel if made prior to the advent of fluid steel barrels. However, its even, browned patina does not readily give indication of this.
Description: The donation record for this specimen preserves a statement from Lincoln Putnam titled "The Coolidge Flintlock" : "It was presented to me in March, 1901 by my cousin, Colonel John C. Coolidge at Plymouth, Vermont. In presenting it, colonel Coolidge told me it had been carried during the Revolutionary War by his great uncle Mahlon Coolidge. "He said the records indicate that the gun-stock was broken over the head of a British Red-Coat at the battle of Bennington, immortalized by the heroism of Mollie Stark. "In tendering the gun, John said "As you are a member of the family, I am proud to make you a present of this family heirloom and historic relic. Anyway, Calvin don't set much store by such things." "At that time, Calvin Coolidge was a practicing attorney at Northampton, Massachusetts. Later he was elected Governor of the State, then Vice-President and at the death of President Harding ascended to the Presidency. "At the close of the war, the gun had been returned to the private museum in the original Coolidge home at Plymouth, Vermont. "This Coolidge Manor-house had been erected before the Revolution and had been kep in such repair as to be in excellent living condition at the time of my visit in 1901." A. Lincoln Putnam P. S. colonel John C. Coolidge's mother and my mother were sisters. Herb Houze, renown firearm expert who visited the MAC when the Samuel Colt: Arms, Art, and Invention exhibit opened looked at the MAC collection with Marsha Rooney. Comments: EXCELLENT. Brass ramrod ferrules are British; lock is French; rest is American. Great brass repair. This specimen especially aroused his interest.
Category: History
Subjects/Topics/Concepts:
Firearms (Tools & Equipment), American Revolutionary War (Military & Warfare->War)
Geographical Reference: Vermont (National)
Dimensions:
Object L x W 59 x 2" ( butt is 2" in width)
Materials/Techniques:
brass (Material)
ferrous metal (Material)
American hardwood (Material)
Marks/Inscription:
Lock stamped in relief-set box "UH," the letter "R" is stamped in the frizzen on the lock mechanism
Related Exhibits:
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. A. L. Putnam, 1957

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